Search

Lipid is an essential source in fish feed production. Vegetable or fruit oil is becoming preferred by many fish feed manufacturers to replace fish oil, which is expensive and scarce. Buah Engkabang (Shorea macrophylla) is well known as the largest genera of the Dipterocarpaceae family and is a popular local fruit collected in tropical forests or nearby rivers in West Kalimantan (Indonesia) and Sarawak (Malaysia). Buah engkabang is seasonal fruit during the dry season, known among the Sarawak locals as a climatic species that ripens between January and March in a favorable environment. This review emphasizes morphology characteristics and phytochemical properties, including fatty acid components. In addition, this review also reviewed the application of engkabang oil in feed production, cooking oil, and other edible products. The high content of saturated fatty acids like palmitic acid, stearic acid, and oleic acids in engkabang product could be essential as the potential omega-six lipid source suitable for freshwater fish like empurau, kelah, and other local fish species found in riverine of Borneo. This eview will provide information on the potential use of buah engkabang as a future lipid source in fish feed production.

The use of Shorea macrophylla oil (SMO) as a substitute for fish oil in enhancing the growth performance of Malayan Mahseer (Tor tambroides) has received limited attention. This study aimed to evaluate the proximate composition fatty acid profiles of SMO and assess its impact as an alternative lipid source for replacing fish oil in the diet of Tor tambroides. A 2-month feeding trial was conducted using 75 fingerlings, averaging 17.9±0.1 g in weight, distributed randomly across five triplicated feed treatments. These dietary treatments consisted of 0% SMO (control), 1.25% SMO (T-1.25smo), 2.5% SMO (T-2.5smo), 3.75% SMO (T-3.75smo), and 5% SMO (T-5smo). The fatty acid composition of Shorea macrophylla oil and the proximate composition of the treatment diets were analyzed. Growth indices (BWG, FI, FCR, and SR) were recorded at 10-day intervals. The results indicate that the incorporation of 2.5% SMO led to an 80.89% increase in BWG with the lowest FCR (2.61) and feed intake. This suggests that including 2.5% Shorea macrophylla oil in the diet may positively impact the growth performance of Tor tambroides fingerlings.

The effectiveness of Shorea macrophylla butter oil (SMBO) as a replacement for fish oil on the growth performance of Javan Mahseer (Tor tambra) is still understudied. The purpose of this research was to examine the proximate composition, fatty acid profile, and efficacy of SMBO as an alternative lipid source to replace fish oil on the growth performance of Tor tambra (Javan mahseer). A 1-month feeding trial was done using 150 tails of Javan Mahseer fingerlings with an average weight of 3.06±0.17 g, using 5 feed treatments randomly assigned in triplicates. Dietary treatments included (0%) fish oil based as control (C) and SMBO inclusion of 1.25% (T1), 2.5% (T2), 3.75% (T3) and 5% (T4) respectively. The fatty acid composition of Shorea macrophylla oil and the proximate composition of treatment diets were determined while growth indices (BWG, FCR & FI) were measured every 10 days. Water quality measurements like pH, dissolved oxygen, and temperature were taken every week. Data were analyzed using One-Way ANOVA. Results showed that BWG was higher at 45.51% after day-10 in C (5% fish oil & 0% Shorea macrophylla butter oil) while FCR were C (0.86), T1 (1.17), T2 (1.14), T3 (1.18), and T4 (1.09). It can be concluded that 5% Shorea macrophylla oil in the diet may improve the growth performance of Tor tambra fingerlings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental temperature rises are powerful stimuli that can alter both the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA). Heat stress has been shown to harm pregnancy outcomes such as causing spontaneous abortion, low birth weight, growth retardation and stillbirth. Supplementation of bee bread in pregnant rats under heat stress exposure has been shown to improve the pregnancy outcomes. However, whether supplementation of bee bread during heat stress exposure may also reduce the level of the stress hormone, corticosterone has yet been reported. Therefore, this study aims to determine the effect of bee bread on corticosterone level, progesterone level, oestradiol level and zonation of the adrenal cortex of pregnant rats under heat stress exposure. Pregnant rats were randomly categorised into four groups (n = 6): Control (C: standard feeding), Treatment 1 (T1: 0.5 g bee bread/kg body weight/day), Treatment 2 (T2: standard feeding with heat exposure), and Treatment 3 (T3: 0.5 g bee bread/kg body weight/day with heat exposure). Bee bread (0.5 g/kg body weight/day) was force-fed to pregnant rats through oral gavage beginning on day 0 of pregnancy and continuing until delivery. Heat stress was generated experimentally by putting both T2 and T3 rats in an egg incubator for 45 min daily at a temperature of 43°C till delivery. On a postnatal Day 21, dams were euthanised to assess serum corticosterone, progesterone, oestradiol levels and adrenal gland histology. Rats in the T2 group had a significantly (P < 0.05) increase in the zona fasciculata thickness (94.95 ± 1.55 µm) and higher corticosterone levels (49.57 ± 1.57 ng/mL) compared with control. However, supplementation of bee bread during heat stress was able to show an improvement in adrenal zona fasciculata thickness by decreasing to 79.89 ± 3.08 µm and corticosterone level reduced to 35.31 ± 1.73 ng/mL significantly (P < 0.05). Therefore, these findings may imply that bee bread is effective as a neutralizer in lowering the production of stress hormone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reproductive health and male fertility are closely related to dietary practices. In recent years, Malaysia has shown a lot of interest in using herbal plants as dietary supplements or in the treatment of numerous diseases. Aquilaria malaccensis, commonly known as karas or gaharu, has recently gained attention for its potential to cure many diseases due to its pharmacological properties. However, studies on its effect on male fertility and reproductive organs are very scarce. This study was conducted to determine the effect of A. malaccensis on male reproductive organs' weight (testis, epididymis, prostate gland and seminal vesicle) and sperm quality (sperm count, sperm morphology and sperm motility) in adult Sprague Dawley rats. Twenty-four male Sprague Dawley rats were allocated into four treatment groups; Control (C: 1 mL of distilled water, n = 6), Treatment 1 (T1: 1 g A. malaccensis/kg body weight, n = 6), Treatment 2 (T2: 2 g A. malaccensis/kg body weight, n = 6) and Treatment 3 (T3: 3 g A. malaccensis/kg body weight, n = 6), respectively. Distilled water and A. malaccensis were administered by oral gavage once daily for 28 days. The rats were euthanised on Day 29 for assessment of reproductive organs' weight and sperm quality. Result shows that weight of testis, epididymis, prostate gland, seminal vesicle and sperm motility did not differ (p > 0.05) among control and treated groups. A significant increase (p < 0.05) of sperm number (1.36 × 10-6) and a decrease (p < 0.05) in percentage of the abnormal sperm (8.17%) were observed in T1 group when compared to Control group. Incremental dosage of A. malaccensis seemed to decrease number of sperm (T3: 0.78 × 10-6 < T1: 1.36 × 10-6 with p < 0.05) and increase percentage of abnormal sperm (T3: 18.83% > T2: 12.17% > T1: 8.17% with p < 0.05). In conclusion, the administration of either 1, 2 or 3 grams of A. malaccensis did not alter the reproductive organs' weight and sperm motility. However, the higher concentration of A. malaccensis consumed by the rats seemed to have detrimental effects on the number and morphology of sperm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A trial was conducted to determine the effect of ascorbyl-2-monophosphate Na/Ca (AMP-Na/Ca) on blood chemistry and nonspecific immune response of red sea bream juveniles. Test diets with three levels of AsA (free, 107, and 325 mg/kg diet) were fed to juvenile red sea bream (36.0 ± 1.3 g) two times a day for 3 wk. There were no significant differences in hematocrit, glucose, and blood urea nitrogen. Total cholesterol and triglyceride in plasma of fish fed AsA-free diet was significantly ( P < 0.05) higher than that of fish fed two other diets. There were no significant differences in serum albumin, total bilirubin, and total serum protein. Glutamyl oxaloacetic transaminase in serum of fish fed diets containing 107 and 325 mg of AsA were significantly ( P < 0.05) lower than that of fish fed AsA-free diet. Serum lysozyme activity (LA) of fish fed diets containing 107 and 325 mg of AsA were significantly ( P < 0.05) higher than that of fish fed AsA-free diet. There was no significant difference in mucus LA. The results mentioned above demonstrated that AMP-Na/Ca is a bioavailable AsA source for red sea bream juveniles. Supplement of more than 107 mg AsA/kg in diets improved blood chemistry and nonspecific immune function of red sea bream juveniles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]